The Bookshop at Water's End

December 1, 2017

Two friends return to Watersend, SC, to the childhood vacation house their families once shared. Bonny Blankenship, an ER doctor forced to take a break, needs to face her bitter marriage and stalled career. She's hoping her teenage daughter Piper, who's just failed her first year at college, might find some answers away from distractions. Lainey McKay, now a famous artist, arrives with her two children, overcoming her reluctance to revisit the place where she last saw her mother some 40 years ago. "Sometimes we tell our stories and sometimes our stories tell us," the local bookshop owner Mimi intones; this summer, those stories will finally lead to the truth. Henry's latest gets the full-cast treatment--Andi Arndt as Bonny, Dorothy Dillingham Blue as Lainey, Shannon McManus as Piper, Lauren Fortgang as Mimi--but the voices are often hard to distinguish, especially Bonny and Lainey. VERDICT Whether via the ears or on the page, loyal Henry fans will likely seek to visit this astute Bookshop. ["With an eloquent and effective narrative, a realistic continuing theme of unbreakable relationship bonds, and a fantastic multilayered story line of secrets, regrets, and a good dose of teenage drama, this is a solid summer read": LJ 6/1/17 review of the Berkley hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Unfold a beach chair, put on your earphones, and listen to the ultimate Southern beach story. Four very different women, portrayed by four uniquely talented narrators--Andi Arndt, Dorothy Dillingham Blue, Shannon McManus, and Lauren Fortgang--explore topics ranging from female bonding and relationship issues to medical malpractice, addiction, trauma, and the longing for a place to call home. Two "summer sisters" who spent past summers vacationing together in a charming cottage are reunited there. Each woman faces her own demons, but their lives are sorted out through lengthy and ponderous discussions and social interaction. The story is highly emotional, and the assembled cast makes the setting and the characters very real to listeners. D.L.G. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine